Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences - History

History

Founded in 1903 and incorporated in New York as a US not-for-profit institution in 1926, in its initial years BIOS was a seasonal field station for visiting zoologists and biologists to take advantage of Bermuda's diverse marine environment. After the Second World War, BIOS became a year-round research center, anchored by the establishment in 1954 of Hydrostation ‘S’: regular deep ocean observations of a single point in the ocean that continue today, creating the longest continuous oceanic database in the world. During the following few decades, increasing numbers of visiting scientists brought an increased emphasis on biological and geological studies.

Resident scientific programs strengthened in the 1980s as the institute became a key link in an international effort to describe and understand the ocean-atmosphere system. In 1998, BIOS established the International Center for Ocean and Human Health, considered the first of its kind to explore the ocean health/human health connection on a global scale. The Center for Integrated Ocean Observations was established in 1999 and uses new technologies to build on a century of marine research at the institute.

Other notable dates: 1978: Oceanic Flux Program begins, the longest record of deep ocean sediment-trap studies in the world. 1988: Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) begins, establishing BIOS as one of two US centers for time-series studies on temporal variability in the ocean and providing key data on changing climate and the ocean. 1994: Risk Prediction Initiative, a collaboration between climate scientists and reinsurers, is established.